THE IMPORTANCE OF CURTAINS
A L T E R M E H O M E A N E C D O T E S
a summary of the importance of made to order curtains, how they can transform your home, how to order and explanations on different styles!
Open them in the morning, draw them as the evening rolls round, they really are one of the most used and important finishing touches of your home.
“In the ancient world, curtains were used primarily for practical purposes such as privacy and insulation. Ancient Egyptians used linen curtains to keep out the hot desert sun, while the Greeks and Romans used them to divide rooms and create more intimate spaces.”
The history of the curtain is both long and fascinating, with their primary use for warmth and privacy, evolving to a symbol of status and wealth during the Victorian era, to the modern day where - despite their incredible practicality are seen as more of a decorative item within your home.
Choosing the right curtain for your unique space, and selecting one that fits beautifully within your overall design will not only elevate and complete a room, but can dramatically enhance its appeal and atmosphere. We are here to assist you in making the right choice for your home and ensure that you achieve the look you desire!
Our Made To Order Curtains
After many failed curtain purchases.. (too long, too short, too see through, won’t hang right..) I enlisted the help of my mum (former incredible curtain maker) to teach me how to make my very own perfect pair, which after much practise I have mastered and have made many for friends, family and customers since.
Made to order curtains not only fit perfectly and create balance to the room, but there is the benefit of choosing the perfect colour, pattern, fabric, fullness, length, trims and headings! They are the key to making a room look ‘polished’ and will last for many years to come!
With all this being said, made to order curtains can be a minefield, so I have tried to break it down into a handy guide to help with ordering the perfect curtains for your home
The fabric
Our made to order curtains are available in any of the fabrics that we stock, with linen being the lightest choice and wool being the thickest. There is also the consideration of plain, patterned or striped - it is worth noting that plain fabrics are a lower price point with patterned fabrics being the highest price point, this is due to having to pattern match whilst assembling your curtains.
If you would like to learn a little more about our fabrics you can check out this page which summarises each one, its suitability, practicality and how to care for it.
Our Jennifer stripe fabric is another lovely option to add warmth with neutral tones, this pair have a fold over heading which adds character and charm to this bedroom window.
This room does not benefit from much natural light, so we used standard cotton lining to help them remain lighter and more airy in appearance. This addition enhances their overall functionality while maintaining a pleasant atmosphere in the space.
The Lining
We offer four types of lining, plain off white cotton which is the lowest cost option, a linen mix which is a more neutral beige tone, black out which adds a little cost due to the price of the lining due to it’s light and thermal properties. The final option is interlined which is a standard white cotton with wadding, this lining is popular with a lot of hotels and home stays as it creates a really luxurious and weighty finish to the curtains - it is my absolute favourite and is great when using lighter more transparent light weight fabrics such as linen to enhance the opacity and ensure maximum privacy and heat retention, again this does add a little more to the price as it takes a little longer to assemble a double weight lining as well as the cost of this lining.
The Curtain Width and Fullness
Measuring is key, and there are several points to consider; the width of your pole will be the ‘width’ you provide for your curtains, this means that each curtain will be the full width of your pole adding beautiful full pleats and ensuring a nice snug closure. If you are after something to make a little more of a statement in the room you can opt for fuller curtains, which will be made extra wide for that super full gather when opened and a fuller gathered look when closed. For more details on how to measure up you can take a look at our handy measuring guide.
A closer look at our folder over curtains in Jennifer stripe.
Heading Height and Types
Then there is the heading height, and type of heading (this is the strip at the top of the curtain where you will attach your curtain hooks which then slot onto your curtain pole rings').
A standard pencil pleat is a pleated gather where the heading sits at the very top of the curtain, this is the most popular and also the less costly option as there is no need for additional fabric and is slightly less time consuming to be made, there is then a choice of heading depths - which will determine the length of the pleat at the top of the curtain, if you’d only like a small pleat then we would use a 3” heading tape, but for a longer pleat (which will be visible at the top where the curtain gathers) a wider heading tape can be used.
Then there is what I like to call a ‘relaxed pencil pleat’ where the heading is placed around 5cm lower than the top of the curtain, this creates the look in the image at the top of the page - showing our neutral linen interlined curtains using a 3” heading tape - again there is the option to use wider tapes for a more dramatic pleat.
For a much more formal look there is the choice of pinch pleat, this is where the header tape is not gathered but pre pleated by pinching and pressing, this is a really sophisticated option and perfect for master bedrooms or dining areas (or any area you’d like to elevate with a special curtain) these are more expensive due to the additional time and sewing of these wonderful pleats. Pinch pleat can be double (two pleats) or triple (you guessed it three pleats) which is down to preference of how you would like these to look overall. Again varying header widths can be used to elongate these pleats.
The most laid back of all the header styles is the beautiful cottage ruffle pleat, where a very narrow 1” header tape is used and placed either 5, 10 or 15cm below the top of the fabric to create a wonderfully full ruffle above. For a ruffle that has more shape and volume we would suggest interlining the curtains, this is a fabulous way to create that full ruffle whilst adding weight and a premium feel to the curtains.
Finally we offer ‘fold over’ curtains, which again use a very narrow 1-2” header tape placed 20cm lower than the top of the fabric which forces the fabric to ‘fold over’ the ruffle fold is something that adds real character and charm to curtains and works beautifully when using a stripe fabric. We can even use a contrasting fabric on the reverse to achieve a totally unique look!
We can also attach fringe or fan edge trims to your curtain, typically on edges either to the inside or outside but could be used alone the top or bottom; again creating a totally unique one of a kind piece - these are the same trims we use on our cushions.
Finally - The Length of your Curtains
Length is mostly down to personal preference or position within the home / room. However as a general rule this will be from the curtain pole to the floor with the option of elongating this if you prefer your curtains to ‘pool’ (think of this like a train on a wedding dress but a curtain on the carpet/floor…)
The most popular length is skimming the floor - however we can of course make curtains to sit in line with windowsills or shorter door curtains to add some privacy to front and back door which have large windows.
These interlined curtains are made from our neutral linen and give a beautiful natural warmth to the room, the are interlined to add weight with a longer pencil pleat heading to create a wonderful gather. The curtains ‘pool’ on the floor which gives a more drapey relaxed feel to this dressing room. Paired with a pop of colour using our Autumn meadow cushion.
I hope you have found this little guide useful and it has given a little bit more of an explanation of our made to order curtains and the range of choices available. If you do have any questions please pop them in the comment box below!
If you would like a box of our curtain fabric samples then they can be ordered here. If you would like a quote or any more advice then please contact me via email; info@alterme.co.uk